Another distasteful outcome of the current political crisis is the poisoning of the English language. Words that have perfectly good meanings have become tainted. Obvious ones such as leaver and remainer have become tarnished with age, color and educational attainment. Each side of the argument uses these innocent words as pejorative. That, however, is the … Continue reading Collaboration is good
The New European
I am continuing my peregrinations into the printed media. On a periodic basis, though not as regularly as I would like, I have been visiting my local newsagent or supermarket to buy a newspaper. I have not gone for the same paper, instead buying those which I have not bought before or in a … Continue reading The New European
A representative organisation
I often chew the cud with an old friend of mine about what is wrong with the world of work. Whenever we are together the conversation somehow gets around to the role of women and minority groups and how to get greater diversity and representation in the workplace. It is not an easy subject yet … Continue reading A representative organisation
Brexit as a chaotic system
Who knows what to believe these days? Come 1st November we are either going to be out of the Europeen Union or still in. We are going to be at the start of a golden era for a resurgent United Kingdom or floundering like a banana republic. We will be living in the land of … Continue reading Brexit as a chaotic system
Why I joined Dynamo
More than five years ago now, when I was still working at Durham and involved with the North East ICT Managers’ group, we became aware of a new tech group in the region. Charlie Hoult, of Hoult’s Yard and Bob Paton from Accenture had created Dynamo, volunteer led group set up with the core mission … Continue reading Why I joined Dynamo
The most fantastic institution
A lot is said about our National Health Service. It is under enormous pressure, can’t get the staff and is short of money. These things may be true yet when it works well, which it does for most of the time it is one of the most fantastic institutions in the world. A few weeks … Continue reading The most fantastic institution
Weapon of choice
Is Facebook the new Prime Minister’s weapon of choice? It seemed an odd choice of platform to use when he announced his latest wheeze, an unofficial Prime Minister's question time, apparently online. The headlined idea was to allow real people to ask questions of him which he could then answer. Of course, I imagine the … Continue reading Weapon of choice
A ski slope of data
There have been many times throughout my career in tech when the problem described is not the problem that needs to be solved. This has often been the case when people have complained about the ineffectiveness of a software application only to find out that it is not set up correctly or that they have … Continue reading A ski slope of data
Advertising stereotypes
When I first heard that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it will ban adverts that promote gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence, I thought here we go, political correctness has gone mad. The more I think about it, however, the more I support their approach. According to … Continue reading Advertising stereotypes
An English Civil War
I know that times are very different from the middle of the seventeenth century but could we be heading for another English Civil War? It may sound far fetched but I wonder. The country is riven in two, between the europhobic and europhilic contingents with a split that is not far from 50:50, if you … Continue reading An English Civil War
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 